Are you trying to avoid the mass consumerism of plastic toys when buying for a toddler?
Wooden toys make great alternatives to their plastic counterparts. They are most often extremely durable and will last for your child, younger siblings and can be passed down for generations.
The wooden toys featured for toddlers on this page are made by companies which have thought about their environmental impact and harvested wood from sustainable sources.
Read on for lots of suggestions of wooden toys for toddlers.
Tegu Robo Magnetic Wooden Block Set
These blocks have magnets in them, so easily stick together when building something. It’s a fab little set, perfect for travel or having in your bag to keep toddlers entertained while out and about. They blocks can be built into lots of different
Tegu is an excellent company who have changed the life of many people and you are really supporting something special if you purchase their toys. They employed people in Honduas, a poor nation where there is 30% of unemployment and little opportunity so it gave people jobs and helped transform their lifes.
Tegu toys are made from sustainably sourced hardwoods and they are naturally safe: no lead, no plastic, non-toxic, a water-based lacquer finish and no small parts.
Kinderfeets Retro – Wooden balance bike
Wooden balance bikes are fab toys for young children to use. Kids from aged 2 (although some are younger) can start to use a balance bike.
When buying a balance bike make sure that the child’s feet can go fully flat on the floor when they are sitting on the bike. Kids will need to be able to do this, so they can use their feet to push the bike along. Although this is recommended for kids from aged 2, reviews suggest that it might be best for kids who are a little bit taller, perhaps towards age 3.
The tires are EVA airless, biodegradable tires with plenty of grip while minimizing our carbon footprint and of course no more flats.
The bikes are handmade with the wood of fast growing birch trees, a replenishable source- AND for every bike sold, a tree is planted collaboration with Trees for the Future.
Minimal packing materials made from recycled paper and water based inks.
Wishbone 3 in 1 – Convertable Balance Bike
An option of balance bike for younger toddlers is the wishbone 3 in 1 balance bike. It starts at age 1 as a trike, converts to a running bike as the child grows, and by four to five years old, the wishbone frame is flipped, making the Wishbone Bike one of the largest running bikes on the market. It will grow with your child.
The bike is made from sustainably-harvested birch and eucalyptus wood, non-toxic glues and finishes, and recycled packaging
It transforms from baby walker & push tricycle to small balance bike to large balance bike so will last for years and will accommodate siblings as well.
Bigjigs Rail Wooden Fairy Town Train Set
Toddlers love train sets. They are great for honing fine motor skills as they try and put the track pieces together. They are also fantatsic for imaginative play.
The good news is that there are all kinds of train sets for toddlers. The Bigjigs train set featured is a really pretty set. Both boys and girls at this age love pink so it could be for either gender, although Bigjigs also make trains sets with gender neutral colors like this 101 piece train set.
Bigjigs use rubberwood that is harvested in replenishable forests so it is made from responsibly resourced materials.
Plan Toys Wooden Blocks
Wooden blocks are great for imaginative play. Kids can build towers, castles, houses, bridges and many other structures. Building with blocks are brilliant for developing fine motor skills and hand and eye co-ordination.
Plan Toys are a fab company who have good environmental policies and as part of their wooden toy range have some great building blocks. They use rubber wood from replenishable sources to make their toys. They only use materials and manufacturers utilizing a minimal waste concept. They also use water based non-toxic colors.
Haba Pallette Of Pegs
Haba are another excellent company that focuses on environmental accountability. They only use beech and birch wood for their toys which comes from sustainable forestry.
The pallette of pegs is a brilliant educational toy which offers so much learning through play. It can help shape and color recognitions as well as fostering fine motor skills. You can color match the pieces, make deigns on the board, stack the pegs in a tower and use the rings to keep it steady (how high can you build),
It’s a beautiful toy which is durable so will last and can be passed through to siblings, other family members or friends.
Toddler Bowling Game
BeginAgain are another excellent company who use sustainable materials in their toys and make recycled plastic toys as well as wooden toys. Their wooden toys are made of rubberwood which is sustainably harvested from Rubber Trees.
The toddler bowling game is a fun indoor game. Run the ball down the elephant ramp and try to knock down the pieces. What I really like about this game, is that the animals themselves can also be used for imaginative play as well as being bowling pins. There are lots of ways to play.
Toy Garage
LeVan make use replenishable smooth rubber wood for their toys.
This Le Grande toy garage features of working lifts, plastic ramps, disabled parking spaces and three stories. It features a car, helicopter and gas pump help.
It’s a beautiful toy that is perfect for imaginative play and little hands. It’s durable and will last through several kids and generations.
Petit Collage Wooden
Petit Collage are another brilliant ethical company who are well worth checking out.
They make many of their toys from recycled paper and cardboard. Their wooden toys such as the safari puzzle is made from FSC-certified natural European beech wood.
There are lots of ways you can use this puzzle. Firstly by doing the puzzle. But also the pieces can be stacked in one or twos outside the puzzle or toddlers can play with the animals.
Wooden Dollhouse
Sometimes the classic toys are the best as you know they have stood the test of time and you can’t go wrong with a wooden doll house.
Both young toddler girls and boys like dolls houses. I know because at toddler groups, my sons used to play in the dolls house as much as at the garage and with the cars.
This dolls house is made by bigjigs and uses high quality, responsibly sourced materials.
Toy Kitchen
Another really popular toy with toddlers is a toy kitchen. Toddlers just love playing with all the appliances and accessories, opening a cupboard or an oven, putting things in and taking things out.
The Bigjigs wooden kitchen features an oven & hob with clicking dials, hanging hooks, cooking utensils and oven gloves. It also comes with saucepans, a clock and a blackboard too!
Like all other bigjigs toys the kitchen is made from quality, responsibly sourced materials.
